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March 2- Potash Corp of Saskatchewan Inc, the world's biggest fertilizer company by market capitalization, said it would buy a 9.5 percent stake in Brazil's Fertilizantes Heringer SA from its controlling shareholders for $55.7 million. The deal, expected to close in the second half of this year, will pave the way for a long-term potash supply agreement, allowing...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is taking comments and data about monarchs through March 2, and a decision on whether to list the monarch as threatened is due in December. Environmentalists say the butterfly's decline— the overwinter population in Mexico reached a low in 2013— has coincided with the rise of St. Louis- based agribusiness giant Monsanto's...

OMAHA, Neb.— Berkshire Hathaway Inc. said Saturday that its fourth quarter profit slid 17 percent because of declines in the paper value of its investments and derivative contracts. Berkshire's quarterly profit declined to $4.16 billion, or $2,529 per Class A share, on $48.3 billion in revenue. Those were $3.96 billion, or $2,412 per share, which is up from $3.78...

RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 27- Brazil's Braskem SA, Latin America's largest petrochemical company, said on Friday it had agreed to a revised naphtha supply contract with shareholder Petrobras, staving off a threatened shutdown of its Brazilian plants. The contract with Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known, extends the supply agreement until Aug. 31,...

*Fourth quarter adjusted operating profit 1.46 bln euros. LUDWIGSHAFEN, Germany, Feb 27- BASF, the world's largest chemical firm by sales, expects operating profit to stagnate this year due to lower oil prices and the cost of launching an unusually high number of production sites. The emerging markets are growing more slowly and the global economy is being...

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. _ Quaker Chemical Corp. on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profit of $12.6 million. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was also for earnings of $1 per share. Quaker Chemical shares have decreased slightly more than 4 percent since the beginning of the year.

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Feb 26- Canadian farmers are plowing profits from bumper crops into fertilizer storage facilities to mitigate the pricing power held by major retailers and producers. Over time, the practice might erode the steep premiums farmers pay in the spring to retail businesses owned by Agrium Inc, Richardson International and Cargill Ltd, while...

LAUNCESTON, Australia, Feb 27- The market chatter over forming a giant Chinese oil major through merging PetroChina and Sinopec has ramped up again recently, but the motivations for such a deal struggle to stand up to scrutiny. The Chinese authorities are mulling joining China National Petroleum Corp, the parent of PetroChina, and China Petrochemical Corp, the...

PITTSBURGH _ Koppers Holdings Inc. on Thursday reported a loss of $33.5 million in its fourth quarter. Koppers expects full-year earnings in the range of $1.60 to $1.90 per share, with revenue expected to be $1.7 billion. Koppers shares have fallen 36 percent since the beginning of the year.

MIDDLEBURY, Conn. _ Chemtura Corp. on Thursday reported fourth-quarter net income of $703 million, after reporting a loss in the same period a year earlier. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 7 cents per share. Chemtura shares have risen slightly more than 2 percent since the beginning of the year.

MAYFIELD HEIGHTS, Ohio _ Ferro Corp. on Thursday reported fourth-quarter net income of $11.4 million. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 9 cents per share. This story was generated by Automated Insights using data from Zacks Investment Research.

HOUSTON _ Kraton Performance Polymers Inc. on Tuesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $17.4 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier. On a per-share basis, the Houston- based company said it had a loss of 54 cents. The average estimate of analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 4 cents per share.